Andrés Xiloj Peruch was a K'iche' "daykeeper" (K'iche': ajq'ij) from Momostenango

Momostenango

Momostenango is a municipality in the Totonicapán department of Guatemala. The municipality is situated in the North-West of Totonicapán, in the Western highlands of Guatemala.-Population:Momostenango's population is predominantly of Maya K'iche' descent...

 in Guatemala

Guatemala

Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...

.Interview with Andrés Xiloj he was also one of the four "chuchkajawib" (lineage leaders) of Momostenango.Interview with Dennis and Barbara Tedlock http://alignment2012.com/fap14.html. After his death his son Angél became Chuchkajaw of the Santa Isabel lineage. Being a native speaker of the K'iche' language

K'iche' language

The K’iche’ language is a part of the Mayan language family. It is spoken by many K'iche' people in the central highlands of Guatemala. With close to a million speakers , it is the second-most widely spoken language in the country after Spanish...

 and a practitioner of traditional maya calendric divination he has served as a consultant for several anthropological studies. He assisted Dennis Tedlock

Dennis Tedlock

Dennis Tedlock is the McNulty Professor of English and Research Professor of Anthropology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. He received his Ph.D. in 1968 from Tulane University...

 in elaborating his award winning translation of the ancient K'iche' document Popol Vuh

Popol Vuh

Popol Vuh is a corpus of mytho-historical narratives of the Post Classic Quiché kingdom in Guatemala's western highlands. The title translates as "Book of the Community," "Book of Counsel," or more literally as "Book of the People."...

. And Dennis tedlock has described the translation process as "three-way dialogue among Andres Xiloj, the Popol Vuh text, and myself"

External links

• Transcript of filmed interview with Andrés Xiloj, from the film "Breaking the Maya Code", released March 2008 by Night Fire Films